Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), known informally as the Agency, metonymously as Langley and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action through its Directorate of Operations. The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia.

Some of the key events about Central Intelligence Agency

1947
Established as the first peacetime intelligence agency in the United States
1953
Orchestrated a coup to overthrow Iran's democratically elected government
1954
Organized a coup to remove Guatemala's democratically elected president
1960
Developed the U-2 spy plane for high-altitude reconnaissance missions
1961
Warned President Kennedy about Soviet missiles in Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis
1961
Supported the failed Bay of Pigs invasion attempt in Cuba
1970
Assisted in the development of the first photo-reconnaissance satellite, CORONA
1970
Attempted to prevent the election of a socialist president in Chile
1975
Conducted Operation Eagle Claw to rescue American hostages in Iran
1975
Conducted illegal domestic surveillance on American citizens
1984
Provided crucial intelligence that helped prevent a terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Beirut
1986
Involved in the Iran-Contra affair, illegally selling weapons to Iran
1989
Played a significant role in monitoring and analyzing the fall of the Berlin Wall
2001
Established the Counterterrorism Center to combat global terrorism
2002
Provided flawed intelligence leading to the Iraq War
2004
Engaged in extraordinary rendition and operated secret prisons
2011
Provided critical intelligence that led to the location of a high-profile terrorist leader
2014
Hacked into Senate computers during an investigation of CIA interrogation practices
2017
Created a special unit to address North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs
2017
Developed hacking tools that were later stolen and leaked online

Disclaimer: This material is written based on information taken from open sources, including Wikipedia, news media, podcasts, and other public sources.